Method and apparatus for making wire glass



,Amis @1929. H; 'F CLARK 1,708,662

METHOD ANDAPPARATUS FOR MAKING wrm; GLASS OriginalF'iled July l5. 1920 'LSheetS-Svh'eg, l y

M @trof/neg S pm Q? N29. Y H. CLARK QGZ METHOD AND APARATUS Fon MAKING wI'RE GLASS vcn-igm;Filed July 15, 1920 4 swam-Sheet 2 pfr S, E29. H. F. CLARK LSSZ METHOD AND APPARATUS VFOR MAKING 'wRE GLASS origmmliled July .15. 1920 4 sheets-snee; 5

April 9, 1929, H, F, CLARK 1,708,662-

METHOD AND APPARATUS FORMAKING WIRE GLASS Driginal Filed July 15. 1920 4 sheets-sheet 4 @51g www LL PTNT HENRY F. CLARK, Oi? OAKMONT, PENNSYLVANIA, .ASSIGNORTO WINDOW GLASS MA- CHINE COMPANYgOF EITTSBUBGH, PENNSYLVANILA,- A CORPORATION Ol NEW Y l JERSEY.

MIE)'lEfOIDA AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING- WIRE GLASS.

nApplication tiled July 15, 1920, Serial No. 396,470. Renewed April 14,1926.

Figure 1 is a vertical section illustrating one form of apparatus `embodying my invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the wire guide and protector. l

Figure 3 is a. section on the line lll-lll of Figure 1 with a portion of the wire guide and protector broken away.

Figure Ll is a view generally similar to Figure 1, but illustrating the wire guide and protector in a different position.

Figure 5 is a face view of a pair of'corrugating rolls which may be employed, and o `Figure 6 is av view similar to Figure 1, but showing a modification.

My invention has relation to a method and apparatus for making wire glass, and is designed to provide a method and apparatus of -this character by means of which sheets of wire glass may be continuously drawn to be afterwards severed into the desired sizes.

My invention further provides a method of this character in which the apparatus and modeof operation is extremely simple; which is capable of a large production; and in which the work and difficulties of starting and stopping the draw'a-re greatly lessened.

My invention also provides meanswhereby the sheets may be corrugated as they are formed, if desired.

The nature of my invention will be best understood by reference to the accompany` ing drawings in which l have shown a preferred embodiment thereof, and which will now be described, it being premised, however, that various changes may be madeE therein without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention as defnedin the appended claims.

In these drawings, thenumeral 2 designates a portion ot' a glass melting tank or furnace having the feed-out portion 8 leading to a forehearth extension 4. The flow of glass into this extension'may be controlled by any suitable means such as the vertically movable gate 5. The forehearth extension 4 is largely enclosed by a heating chamber or kiln 6 having a suitable arrangement of burners 7, or other means, for supplying heat thereto. The root1 or cover of the heating chamber or kiln is provided with a transverse Opening 8 through which the draw is made, 9 designates a combined wire guide end of the guide and protector which extends upwardly through the heating chamber 6 and the foreand lowering it, as by providing itsv support 13 with adjusting screws 14, such as shown in Figure 3. l

`In operation the wire fabric is drawn up through the wire guide and protector 9 and through any suitable arrangement of feed rolls or wheels l5 to a bending roller 16, after which it passes horizontally into a suitable flattening annealing chamber or leer, not shown, iii a manner well known in the manufacture of drawn glass sheets without wire. In starting vthe operation, the combined wire guide and protector is raised to the position shown in Figure 4 in which its upper edge is above the'level of the glass bath,so that in engaging the wire fabric with the draft wheels or rollers, this -initial portion of the it is desired to start the draw proper', the

guide and protector is dropped to the position shown in Figure 1. Thereafter, the body of the fabric comes in direct contact with molten glass and the glass adheres thereto and is drawn therewith, the wire acting as the bait. This operation is repeated until, for any reason, it is desirable or necessary to stop the draw, when the guide and protector may be again raised.

Vhile the wire fabric may be coated with glass throughout its entire width, it may be desirable, in some cases, to leave the edges of the fabric uncoated. For this purpose, l have shown the guide and protector 9 as having its end portions 9a extending upwardly to a level above the level of the upper edge of its intermediate portion,` and sufficiently high so that at no time will these extensions be below the level of the molten glass. In this manner the edges of the fabric are at all times protected from contact with the glass l above the opening 8. Any desired arrangement of cooling devices and burners may be located-adjacent to the drawn sheet at v'arious portions of its travel, according as it may be desired to increase or lower the temperature of the glass at any particular poin't.

The use of such coolers and burners is well known in the art of drawing glass.

18 designates a cooler which is placed around the guide and protector a short distance below the bottom of the forehearth eX- tension 4. This is provided in order to chill the glass which may leak downwardly around said device and thus prevent continued leakaOe.

bInstead of causing the drawn sheet to be carried horizontally over a bending roller, as shown in Figures land 4, it may be drawn vertically through a series of pairs of rollers 19 as shown in Figure 6 in a manner also well known in the art of drawing glass sheets, these rollers being located in a series of chambers 20 arranged one above another. In this figure the furnace is illustrated as having an enclosed forehearth extension 4; which may be heated by a suitable arrangement of burners 7.

In case it is desired to'manufacture corrugated sheets, the pairs of rolls 21, shown in Figure 4, may be corrugatedin' the manner shown in Figure 5. The sheet when -it reaches lthese rolls will be suiliciently plastic, or can be made so by a suitable arrangement of heating means to enable it to be readily corrugated.

It will be understood that the feed rolls or wheels 15, the bending roller 16, and the corrugating rolls 21 may all be hollow, as indicated in the drawings, to facilitate cooling ,by air or water, as well known in the art, or

that'they may -be otherwise'cooled as found desirable.

The advantages of my invention wlll'be apparent to those skilled in this art since it provides a very simple and practical method for the continuous drawing of `wire glass either in a plain or corrugated form.

An important advantage ef my invention lies in the fact that the glass which is drawn from the bath has a clear fire polished surface of the character obtainable by drawing glass from a bath out of contact with any shaping surface. The corrugating operation does not Y.

materially impair this surface, if at all, and the glass produced is therefore ofhigh quality and is transparent. This makes it particularly useful for forming walls of factories or the like.

I haveherein shown and described, as it will be obvious that the various forms of receptacles may be provided for theA molten lass from which the draw is made; that the orrn and arrangement of the combined wire guide vand protector may be widely varied, and that other changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In the method of making wire glass, the steps consisting of passing a wire fabric upwardly through a. guide and protector which initially projects above the level ofa bath of glass, engaging the wire fabric above the bath, .lowering the guide and protector suiiciently to give the glass access to the wire fabric, and continuing the feed by engaging successive portions of the wire fabric with the engaging means above the bath, substantially as described.

2. The herein described method of making wire glass, which consists in drawing the central portion of a web of wire fabric through a bath of molten glass, while protecting the edge portions thereof from contact with the glass. substantially as described.

3.. The hereindescribed method of making wire glass which consists in drawing a sheet or web of wire fabric through a bath of molt- -en glass, protecting the fabric from contact with the glass in starting the draw, and removing the protective means from the body of the sheet of fabric when it is desired to glass, comprising a container for molten glass,

a combined wire guide and protector extendving upwardly within the container, and means for raising and lowering the guide and protector to change the level of its upper edge with respect to the level of the glass in the container, a portion of the guide and protector being adapted to project above the glass at any normal drawing adjustment, substantially -as described.

5. Apparatus for the manufacture of wire glass, comprising a container 'for molten glass, a combined wire lguide and protector extending upwardly within the container, means for drawing wire fabric through the guide, andmeans for moving the guide to vary the level of its upper edge with respect to the level of the glass in the container, the guide and proire tector havinga portion projecting above said Lacasse' e wall thereof, and a cooling device adjacent to the lower edge of said opening, substantially as described.

7. Apparatus for the manufacture of wire glass, comprising a container for molten glass and a wire guide extending upwardly into the container, said guide having its end portions raised above the level of its central portion, substantially as described.

8. Apparatus for the manufacture of wire glass, comprising a container for molten glass, means for drawing a sheet of wire fabric through the glass in the container, and means for preventing contactof the glass in the container with the edge portions of the fabric while giving access of the glass to the central portion thereof, when desired, substantially as described.

9. Apparatus for the manufacture of wire glass, comp-rising a .container fOr molten glass, means for drawing a wire fabric through the container with its central 'portion in contact with the glass, and means for protecting the edge portions of the fabric from contact with the glass in the container as it is drawn therethrough and mechanism for adjusting theprotecting means in a vertical direction, substantially asdescribed.

10. Apparatus for the manufacture of wire glass, comprising a container for molten glass, means vfor drawing a wire fabric through the glass in the container, means for preventing contact of the glass in the container with the edge portions of the fabric, anddraft membershaving projections for engagement with the uncoated edge portions of the fabric, substantially as described.

11. Apparatus for the manufacture of wire glass, comprising a container for molten glass, a wire guide extending .upwardly through the container, means for drawing a sheet of wire fabric upwardly through the guide and through a portion of the glass in the container, and a bending roller for altering the direction of travel of the sheet of wii'e glass, said bending roller being adapted to corrugate the sheet, substantially as described.

12. Apparatus for the manufacture of wire glass, comprising a container' for molten glass, a wire guide extending upwardly vthrough the container. means for drawing a sheet of wiie fabric upwardly through the guide and through a portion of the glass in the container. a bending rollerfor altering the direction of travel of the glass sheet, and corrugating means adapted to act on the glass after it passes over the bending roller,

substantially as described.

.- l 13. Apparatus for making wire glass, coinprising a container' for a molten bath of glawss, means for subjecting a wire fabric to the glass in the bath and withdrawing it from the same with a glass coating thereon, a roll adapted to change the direction of travel of the formed gaging the reinforced glass sheet and beingrr f effective for changing the cross-sectional shape of the glass and the wire fabric embedded therein, substantially as described.

15. The method of making wire glass whichcomprises substantially continuously forining a substantially flat sheet ofglass havinga u iic fabric therein. and thereafter substantially continuously deforining thel glass and the wire contained therein to form a substantially continuous sheet of different cross sectional shape than that originally formed, substantially as described.

1G. The method of making wire glass which comprises substantially continuously forming a substantially flat sheet of glass having a wire fabric therein, and having a surface of the character obtainable by drawing glass from a bath out of contact with any shaping surface and thereafter substantially continuously deforming the glass and the wire contained therein to form a substantially continuous sheet of different cross sectional shape than that originally formed wit-hout materially altering the character of the sheet surface, substantially as described.

17. The method of making corrugated wire glass, which comprises substantially continuously advancing flat wire mesh and .forming a glass sheet tlierearound so as to make a flat sheet of glass having fiat wire mesh embedded therein` and while the sheet is sufficiently plastic byheat to permit deformation, corrugating the sheet and the mesh at one operation in such direction that the corrugated ribs extend along the direction of travel of the wire mesh.

18. The incthod of making corrugated wire glass, which comprises ,drawing flat wire mesh i from a bath of molten glass so as to substantially continuously produce a fiat sheet of glass out of contact with any shaping surface.

the glass having flat wire iiiesh embedded.

therein, and while the sheet is suflicicntly plastic by heat to permit deformation, corrugating the sheet and the mesh at One operation.

19. Apparatus for making wire glass, comprising a container for a molten bath of glass, means for subjecting a wire fabric to the glass in the bath and withdrawing it from 'the vsame with a glass coating thereon, a roll adapted to change the direction oi travel of the formed Wire glass, and cooperating Corrugated rolls adapted to engage the glass after it has passed over the first mentioned roll, substantially,7 as described.

20. Apparatus for making Wire glass, cornprising a container for a molten bath of glass, means for subjecting a Wire fabric to the glass in the bath and withdrawing it from the same with a glass coating,r thereon, a roll adapted to ehangethe direction of travel of the formed Wire glass,: the roll having recessed portions, a cooperating' roll having portions fitting into such recesses and adapted to change the cross-sectiona1 shape of the glass and the Wire fabric embedded therein, and a similar pair of rolls beyond the first mentioned rolls adapted to engage the glass after its direction of travel has been Changed, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

HENRY F. CLARK. 

